England coach Flower targets Pakistan scalp

Andy Flower believes his side can cause something of an upset by beating defending champions Pakistan in the opening Super Eights match of the World T20.

Written by Press Trust of India

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Bridgetown, Barbados:

England coach Andy Flower believes his side can cause something of an upset by beating defending champions Pakistan in the opening Super Eights match of the World Twenty20.

Flower's men face the title-holders at the Kensington Oval here on Thursday, having scraped through to the second round after losing in a rain-affected match to the West Indies, despite scoring 191 for five, and qualifying on superior run-rate after a washout with Ireland.

Pakistan lost to Australia but beat Bangladesh and the Tigers' defeat by the Aussies here on Wednesday secured the title-holders' Super Eight spot.

"Pakistan are a very dangerous side, with a history of winning a good percentage of their Twenty20 games," said Flower. "But I think we're pretty dangerous as well.

"It would be a scalp. They have lots of talent, and a lot of variety in their attack.

"But the (England) guys have shown attacking intent, quite a lot of power and the nous to time the innings properly.

England have so far owed much to Dublin-born batsman Eoin Morgan's contributions of 55 against the West Indies and 45 against his native Ireland.

Flower though believes there is more to come from Morgan.

"I wouldn't want to pigeon-hole a guy at all, because I think there are all sorts of things he could achieve in his career - and he's only just started it," said former Zimbabwe batsman Flower.

"Whether he goes on to play Test cricket or not, we don't know. But he's obviously a guy who's very good at handling pressure.

"He's got a good brain on him and he's very talented."

Flower added: "Anyone who can hit the ball as cleanly as he does, and hit some of the shots he does, obviously has a great combination," added Flower.

"We're very thankful to have him."

Morgan's ingenuity with the bat has caught the eye but it is the mental side of his game that has impressed Flower as much as anything else.

"He's measured things brilliantly. I think it shows a great understanding of the game.

"I think he's captained quite a lot through his age groups in Ireland, and I think some of that understanding of the game comes through in his batting.

"He has freedom to express himself, and we don't want to rein that in. We want him to be free to make his own decisions."